Joshua KO in SPOTY is big news for Bookies

The general public were on the end of a big KO as Anthony Joshua, hot favourite for BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, did not even finish in the top-three.

Some Bookmakers had even closed their markets on Joshua winning, at 1/10 the probability of him winning was more than 90% – this is the biggest upset in the history of this event, especially as the winner Mo Farah was not even in the thinking for many.

Some Bookmakers reported listing Farah at a whopping 33/1 just moments before he picked up the award with Joshua odds on.

“Joshua was a done deal, there has never been in a bigger upset in Sports Personality of the Year – we have heard over 70% of bets generally across the board were on Joshua,” said OddsMonkey spokesman Peter Watton.

“Ryan Giggs was a 20/1 outsider when he took the award in 2009 but even then, there were whispers – with this nobody saw this coming, after Jonnie Peacock and Jonathan Rea were named in third and second respectively – everyone thought only one name was coming and it certainly wasn’t Mo Farah.

“We only have to look back to earlier this week to see just how big a shock this was – to finish in the top-three, Joshua was 1/100, so that is a 99% possibility! Remarkable and one of the biggest upsets in any betting market this year.”

Despite missing out on the award, Joshua is already an early favourite for the award next year – rated at 4/1.